INTRO:
A company in California says it could be the first to grow food on Mars. Local Roots in Los Angeles has developed an indoor farm which can be used anywhere in the world, recreating any conditions on planet earth.
The food is already being used in restaurants across the United States. And now they've joined forces with Space X - the company trying to transport humans to other planets. Frances Read reports from California.
IN: "In a warehouse..."
OUT: SOC:
DUR: 2,37"
http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0804FoodOnMars-fr-gen.mp3
PKG
VO1: In a warehouse in Los Angeles - thousands of lettuces, kale plants and other vegetables are growing under bright purple lights. They look like something from another planet. But these plants are destined to be just that. This is the beginning of what could be the first food to sustain human life on Mars.
"We're awarded the opportunity because we're in a controlled environment to grow food really anywhere whether that's on earth or whether off earth or on Mars in the future."
VO2: Californian company, Local Roots, has developed the technology to replicate any kind of climate inside a 40 foot shipping container - using special LED lights and nutrients. Brandon Martin is from Local Roots Farms.
"People have been trying to control the environment around plants for a very long time. Outdoor farmers have been trying to do it with pesticides, and chemicals and predicting weather patterns. This allows us the opportunity to embrace technology, incorporate technology with that same biology the same seed you would plant outdoors. We just create perfect weather for it inside."
VO3: They've now teamed up with, Space X, the American company that's trying to put humans on Mars. They want to keep the astronauts alive with food they'd normally eat on earth. Kipp Stroden is one of those in charge of product development at Local Roots.
"We're in the very early stages of this exploration but astronauts will be travelling three to four months on a one leg journey to mars and eating powders might not cut it and they're going to need some micronutrients And once mars is colonised then there will have to be ongoing food production there and we can provide a solution for that."
VO4: But it's not just in space that there could be benefits. Traditional farming techniques use thousands of gallons of water. This new technology bypasses that - potentially solving world problems of drought. And it's already being used commercially in restaurants. Fermin Arias is a chef at the restaurant Tender Greens and he's already using the plants in his cooking.
"Who doesn't want to be at the cutting edge, right? It's pretty exciting. For me as a chef it's what you want, to be able to have something fresh that you can pick off right off the counter and utilise it going to be extraordinary. As a chef it's exciting but as an astronaut to have something nutrient rich it's going to change the way we eat and the way we look at food I think."
VO5: Scientists agree there's no quick fix for people's need for food whether it's here on earth where there's an abundance of water or on Mars where there's not. But, they say, trying find solutions to the world's food shortages may be key to the long-term success of expeditions to other planets. Frances Read, Los Angeles.
ENDS
A company in California says it could be the first to grow food on Mars. Local Roots in Los Angeles has developed an indoor farm which can be used anywhere in the world, recreating any conditions on planet earth.
The food is already being used in restaurants across the United States. And now they've joined forces with Space X - the company trying to transport humans to other planets. Frances Read reports from California.
IN: "In a warehouse..."
OUT: SOC:
DUR: 2,37"
http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0804FoodOnMars-fr-gen.mp3
PKG
VO1: In a warehouse in Los Angeles - thousands of lettuces, kale plants and other vegetables are growing under bright purple lights. They look like something from another planet. But these plants are destined to be just that. This is the beginning of what could be the first food to sustain human life on Mars.
"We're awarded the opportunity because we're in a controlled environment to grow food really anywhere whether that's on earth or whether off earth or on Mars in the future."
VO2: Californian company, Local Roots, has developed the technology to replicate any kind of climate inside a 40 foot shipping container - using special LED lights and nutrients. Brandon Martin is from Local Roots Farms.
"People have been trying to control the environment around plants for a very long time. Outdoor farmers have been trying to do it with pesticides, and chemicals and predicting weather patterns. This allows us the opportunity to embrace technology, incorporate technology with that same biology the same seed you would plant outdoors. We just create perfect weather for it inside."
VO3: They've now teamed up with, Space X, the American company that's trying to put humans on Mars. They want to keep the astronauts alive with food they'd normally eat on earth. Kipp Stroden is one of those in charge of product development at Local Roots.
"We're in the very early stages of this exploration but astronauts will be travelling three to four months on a one leg journey to mars and eating powders might not cut it and they're going to need some micronutrients And once mars is colonised then there will have to be ongoing food production there and we can provide a solution for that."
VO4: But it's not just in space that there could be benefits. Traditional farming techniques use thousands of gallons of water. This new technology bypasses that - potentially solving world problems of drought. And it's already being used commercially in restaurants. Fermin Arias is a chef at the restaurant Tender Greens and he's already using the plants in his cooking.
"Who doesn't want to be at the cutting edge, right? It's pretty exciting. For me as a chef it's what you want, to be able to have something fresh that you can pick off right off the counter and utilise it going to be extraordinary. As a chef it's exciting but as an astronaut to have something nutrient rich it's going to change the way we eat and the way we look at food I think."
VO5: Scientists agree there's no quick fix for people's need for food whether it's here on earth where there's an abundance of water or on Mars where there's not. But, they say, trying find solutions to the world's food shortages may be key to the long-term success of expeditions to other planets. Frances Read, Los Angeles.
ENDS